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Gakaku

“Sound of a Thousand Years: Gagaku Instruments from Japan” at AD&A Museum

Posted on | by Thomas Mazanec

The Art, Design, & Architecture Museum at UCSB is displaying “Sound of a Thousand Years: Gagaku Instruments from Japan,” an exhibition organized by Fabio Rambelli, from September 25, 2021 to May 1, 2022.

Photograph by Daigengna Duoer.
It is an exhibition on Gagaku 雅楽, the ceremonial music and dance of the imperial court and the main Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines of Japan; as the oldest continuously performed orchestral music in the world (the tradition in Japan starts in the late seventh century), it has been designated by UNESCO as part of the world heritage.
Prof. Rambelli curated this exhibition with the help of Dr. Rory Lindsay (University of Toronto) and grad students from EALCS and Religious Studies—Kaitlyn Ugoretz, Mason Johnson, Mariangela Carpinteri, and Daigengna Duoer—based on a seminar of the cultural history of Gagaku held in Fall 2019. We are grateful to the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA for loaning several instruments, to Maestro Bunno Hideaki and the musicians and dancers of his Gagaku Ensemble (for allowing us to use photos and videos of their performances at UCSB in March 2020), and to the Music Department at UCSB for loaning some pieces from the Henry Eichheim Collection. Special thanks also to Professor Scott Marcus (Music Department).
See the AD&A Museum’s page for more details: https://www.museum.ucsb.edu/news/feature/839.
Flyer for "Meditation Sickness and the Ethics of Buddhist Studies" by Pierce Salguero on 10/14/21 at 5PM in SS&MS room 2135

Upcoming Talk by Pierce Salguero: Meditation Sickness and the Ethics of Buddhist Studies

Posted on | by Thomas Mazanec

Please join us for the first in-person event of the academic year hosted by the East Asia Center and organized by Dominic Steavu in collaboration with Religious Studies and our department.

Meditation Sickness and the Ethics of Buddhist Studies
a lecture by Pierce Salguero, PhD

October 14, 5pm
Social Science & Media Studies, room 2135

Text describing a course, over an image of several hands holding chopsticks, grabbing food from shared dishes. The text at top reads: EACS 181 A: Transnational East Asian Cinema and Food Culture. Dr. Beth Tsai (EALCS)." Text on bottom reads: "Fall 2021. This course examines how food an the related socio-political issues have been represented in East Asian cinemas. Students will explore narrative, visual, and symbolic uses of food in the context of popular culture and transnationalism. No prior knowledge of film studies is required. All films are subtitled. For more information, email bethtsai@ucsb.edu."

Two New Courses for Fall 2021

Posted on | by Thomas Mazanec

This fall, we will be introducing two new courses, both of which are taught by our new colleague, Dr. Beth Tsai (Visiting Assistant Professor of Taiwan Studies).

  • EACS 181A: Transnational East Asian Cinema and Food Culture
  • CHIN 126A: Reading Taiwan Literature

Please see the flyers below for more details.Text describing a course, over an image of several hands holding chopsticks, grabbing food from shared dishes. The text at top reads: EACS 181 A: Transnational East Asian Cinema and Food Culture. Dr. Beth Tsai (EALCS)." Text on bottom reads: "Fall 2021. This course examines how food an the related socio-political issues have been represented in East Asian cinemas. Students will explore narrative, visual, and symbolic uses of food in the context of popular culture and transnationalism. No prior knowledge of film studies is required. All films are subtitled. For more information, email bethtsai@ucsb.edu."

Gold border, red background. Image of a woman standing, facing away, holding a basket and looking at a village. Text at top reads: "CHIN 126 A: Reading Taiwan Literature. Dr. Beth Tsai (EALCS). Several lines in Chinese that give the title and author of a book. Text at bottom reads: "Fall 2021. This course offers an in-depth study of modern Taiwanese literature. We'll look at select authors' work from the late 60s to early 80s, exploring nativist literature (xiang-tu) and local consciousness, literary modernism, female writers, and violence against women in a patriarchal society. For more information, email bethtsai@ucsb.edu."

A close-up photo of Marie Kondo with eyes closed, head slightly bowed, and palms clasped together

Kaitlyn Ugoretz’s Op-Ed on Marie Kondo Featured in Washington Post

Posted on | by Thomas Mazanec
A close-up photo of Marie Kondo with eyes closed, head slightly bowed, and palms clasped together
Our very own Kaitlyn Ugoretz‘s op-ed on Marie Kondo has been featured in the Washington Post. Her piece is an insightful analysis into tidiness guru Marie Kondo’s spiritual eclecticism, and what it can tell us about Japanese religion more generally.
Congratulations, Kaitlyn!
Chinese calligraphy, black ink on beige paper scroll. The text is of "Preface to Lanting Pavilion Collection" by Wang Xizhi.

Classical Chinese Placement Exam (Fall 2021)

Posted on | by Thomas Mazanec

The Classical Chinese placement exam is intended for students who have already studied some Classical Chinese (文言) and would like to skip Chinese 101A and enroll directly in Chinese 101B instead. It is offered once per year, administered by Professor Thomas Mazanec. Please email Prof. Mazanec (mazanec@ucsb.edu) if you are interested in taking this exam.

The test will take place on Tuesday, September 28, 3:30–4:30pm (location to be determined). Prof. Mazanec will provide a short passage in Classical Chinese from a Master’s text (like Mencius 孟子, Zhuangzi 莊子, or Hanfeizi 韓非子) and ask students to translate it into English, focusing on the literal meaning of the words and their grammatical relationship to one another. Students may consult a paper dictionary. Prof. Mazanec will provide several copies of Paul Kroll’s A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese for reference.

If this time is impossible for you due to scheduling conflicts, please email Prof. Mazanec by Monday, September 27, to make alternative arrangements.